Maine salmon facility closed since winter is back online

A salmon processing facility in Machiasport is up and running again after last winter’s extreme weather affected harvesting schedules of the farm-raised fish and suspended processing.

Forty workers are processing salmon at True North Salmon, the processing, sales and marketing division of Cooke Aquaculture USA.

“There is an increased demand for fresh Atlantic salmon raised in Maine,” said company CEO Glenn Cooke in a news release. “We are committed to increasing our farming sites to meet production volume efficiencies and consumer demand. Our goal is to increase our sustainable salmon production and year-round employment in rural Maine.”

The 30,000-square-foot salmon processing plant opened in 1997 but closed in 2004 because of a decline in the salmon farming industry. Cooke Aquaculture purchased the assets of two multinational aquaculture companies with Maine operations in 2006, and worked with the state government and local communities to rebuild the salmon farming industry, according to the release. It created bay management areas to allow for crop rotation, and invested in equipment and technologies in its hatcheries, farms and processing plant.

True North Salmon supplies Atlantic salmon to customers in North America, including Harbor Fish Market at Custom House Wharf in Portland and online retailer Fresh Direct.

Cooke Aquaculture is based in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick, and also has aquaculture operations in Chile, Spain and Scotland.

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